Who knew a delay of game penalty could be just the thing the much-maligned Detroit kicking unit needed?
After Atlanta dominated the first half and raced out to a 21-0 lead, the Lions stormed back with 22 unanswered points of their own, with the final three coming on a 48 yard Matt Prater field goal as time expired that gave them a stunning 22-21 win.
The Falcons (2-6) looked like the much better team in the first half, as quarterback Matt Ryan completed 14 of 17 passes for 160 yards and 2 TDs in the opening two quarters. The Falcons went into the Wembley Stadium locker room leading 21-0 having dominated the Lions in the trenches especially, and looked like they were going to cruise to an easy win.
However, the team that came out in the second half in no way resembled the one from the first. A bumbling Ryan was ineffective, and made what may just have been the worst throw of the entire season, by anyone:
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The Lions, on the other hand, finally began clicking on offense. Matthew Stafford—who finished with 325 yards passing—started making plays, including this tremendous touchdown pass to Golden Tate:
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In the end, though, it was the kicking game that decided it. After a poor Atlanta possession handed Detroit the ball with 1:38 to go, the Lions immediately marched into field goal range and had a 43-yard attempt to win the game all set up. The much-maligned kicking unit looked like they had botched it again as Matt Prater’s kick sailed wide, but were given a reprieve thanks to a delay of game penalty. Prater then nailed the 48-yarder, moving the Lions to 6-2 on the season and throwing the future of Falcons’ coach Mike Smith into question.
